Igniter.



F. W. GOERDES.

IGNITBR.

APPLIUATION FILED DBO. 7, 1010.

FLTQU, Patented NOV.18,1913.

WITNESSES:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE..

A,FREDERICK W. GOERDES, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BUTTON COMPANY, F NEW'ARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

IGNITEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

Application led December 7, 1910. Serial No. 596,022.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK W.

Essex,.and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Igniters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates broadly to igniters of the friction type, and particularly to that class wherein, by contact of a block of spark-producing material or friction alloy with a harder substance, sparksl are produced which may be caused to impinge upon an inflammable substance or upon a wick saturated with a volatile combustible liquid, thus producing a flame.

The object of my improvement is to render the ignition of the iniammable material more certain and to increase the life and efficiency of the operating parts. This I attain through the provision of means for automatically obtaining positive contact between fresh spark-producing surfaces at successive operations of the device.

Myinvention may be embodied inmeans of small compass, and therefore is especially adapted for useas a pocket lighter.

In my improved device the Vopening of the cover of the igniter automatically draws a block of spark-producing substance across the face of a toothed wheel of steel or other hard material. Fine particles are thereby cut or chipped from the block, the heat produced by this action being sufficient to raise these particles to incandescence, and thus to form sparks which may be utilized in producing a fiame.

A portion of my invention relates to the provision of means whereby a new cutting edge is brought into contact with the sparkproducing material or friction alloy at each 'operation of the igniter, and I proportion thel device in such a way that the cutting surface of the wheel does not always come in contact initially with the same portion of the abrasive block. In this manner wear on the abrasive block or friction alloy is made more uniform and the life of the cutting member is prolonged..

In the -accom anying drawings which form a part of t is specification, Figure 1 is a sectional view through one form of m improved device, illustrating in detail the ,operativel mechanism; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View on line I I of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line I I of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, numeral l designates a case, to which the cover 2 is attached by means of the hinge 3. Afiixed to the case is the mechanism-carrying structure 4, in which is journaled the shaft 5 carrying the toothed rotatable cutting member 6. Secured to this toothed member and concentric with it is the ratchet disk 7. The teeth of the ratchet disk are engaged by the spring pawl 8. Pivoted to the pin 9 in the cover is the arm 10, carrying on its other extremity the block 11 of sparkproducing,material A spring 12 is provided for causing the block 11 to bear with a firm pressure upon the toothed cutting member. The spring 13 acts to open the cover when the button 14 is depressed, disengaging the catch 15 fromits socket 16 in the cover. The partition 17 forms a cavity 18 in the lower portion of the case, wherein may be placed a quantity of cotton or other absorbent material 19, which may be saturated with some volatile material whose fumes are highly combustible, such, for instance, as benzin, gasolene or alcohol. A tubular structure 20 passes through the partition 17, and within this tubular structure is placed a wick 21 the exposed end of which, 22, is placed in such a position as to receive sparks which may be formed by the action of the block of spark-producing material in rubbing across the face of the toothed wheel. The lower end of the wick extends down into the chamber 18 and the entire wick is thus kept moist by the liquid which saturates the filling placed therein.

A screw 23 is provided in order to furnish access to the lower cavity vof the case when it is desired to replenish the supply of liquid therein.

The arm 10 I preferably form `from a single piece of sheet metal stamped into the shape shown, and I provide it with the two outstanding lugs or ears 24, adapted to limit the motion of the operating parts by contacting with the abutments 25 when the cover is raised.

The operation of my device is as follows: When the button 14: is depressed, thus releasing the catch which normally holds the cover shut, the spring 13 Will cause the cover to open automatically. The pin 9 is thereby displaced and the arm pivoted to this pin caused to move in an approximatelhorizontal direction, drawing the block o sparkproducing material sharply across the face of the toothed wheel.v Sparks will thereby be formed, which, impinging upon the eX- osed portion of the wick, will cause a dame.

en the cover is shut, the block of sparkproducing material will slide back across the face of the toothed cutting member and will cause the same to rotate through a small arc. As the teeth of the ratchet disk are opposed in direction to those of the cutting member, rotation is permitted when the cover is bein closed, but the toothed cutting member 1s held stationary when the block of spark-producing material is drawn across the face of the cutting member as the cover opens. As a result of this act-ion, a new set of teeth is brought into contact With the operative surface of the spark-producing material each time the cover is closed, and the wear is distributed among all the teeth of the cutting member. Since the cutting member is notalways rotated through an arc equal to a whole num-l ber of teeth when the cover is closed, the

principal tooth in contact with the operative surface of the spark-producing material or friction alloy will not always be yin the same initial position `with respect toA the block, and therefore the wear is much more nearly even over the surface of the spark-.producing block than it would be were a 'sin le stationary, knife edge used in place o'f tie rotary cutting member.

I prefer to use as the spark-producing material or friction alloy the substance known to the trade as cerium, but other hard materials, such as flint or emery, may be used for this purpose, and I have used these terms interchangeably in a generic and not in a special sense in the subjoined claims.

While I have illustrated and described only one specific embodiment of my invention, I believe it to be susceptible of broad application and I do not Wish to be limited to the modification shown in detail.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an igniter, in combination, a case, a

' cover therefor, and spark-producing means spark producing material in including cylindrical cutting element .capable of free rotation in one direction,

and a block of spark-producing material carried by the cover and moved' thereby across said cutting element.-

2. In an igniter, in combination, a case, a cover therefor, and spark producing means including a block of spark producing alloy, a rotatable, cylindrical cutting element, means for reciprocating the one across the face of the other, and means for maintaining the cutting element stationary While the cover is opening. 3. In an igniter, 1n combmatlon, a case, a

cover therefor, and spark producing means including a block of spark producing ma-` terial, a rotatable cutting element, and means whereby the reciprocation of the block across the cut-ting element causes fresh prtlions of said element to contact with said 4. In an igniter, a cutting element having teeth on the periphery thereof and a ratchet portion having teeth opposed in pitch to those of the cutting portion, a. block of contact with said cutting portion, and a pawl engaging said ratchet portion capable of vibration about a fixed point, said pawl yaotingto hold said cutting element stationary during the opening of the cover.

5. In an igniter having' a two-part case, spark producing lmeans including a rotatable cutting element and a ratchet for preventing its rotation when the parts of for carrying av block `of spark producing alloy, means for causing reciprocation of said arm by movement of the cover, and outstanding lugs on said arm adapted to engage a fixed part of said igniter and thereby limit the movement of the arm and the cover.

7. In an igniter having a covera unitary arm secured to said cover and adapted to be reciprocated by movement thereof, said arm having a tubular structure formedat one end to receive a block of spark producing alloy, and unitary lugs outstanding ltherefrom adapted to engage a fixed portion of said igniter and thereby limit the movement of the arm and cover.

8. In. an igniter, in combination, a ca-se, a cover therefor and spark-producing means including a cylindrical cutting element rotatable about its axis in one direction, an arm pivoted to the cover, and a block of spark producing material mounted on said arm and adapted to be vdrawn across said cutting element by movement of the cover.

9. In an igniter, in combination, a case, a

cover therefor and spark-producing means block of spark-producin material, yieldable means for forcing tge block into contact with the cutting element, and means operated by movement of the cover for drawing the block across the cutting element in a direction (pposed to the direction of roincluding a rotatable cutting element, a 4tation of sai element.

FREDERICK W. GOERDES.

Witnesses MAY R. MACDONALD, MINNIE RoHLorF. 

